Here You Go

By His grace, the Lord has given us hearts that can be devoted to honoring Him and to put the needs of others before our own. Just as God was generous when giving His only Son out of His great love, He gives us the capacity to express that love. Isaiah 32 contains this challenging passage:
5 The foolish person will no longer be called generous, Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6 For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against the Lord, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans To destroy the poor with lying words, Even when the needy speaks justice.
8 But a generous man devises generous things, And by generosity he shall stand.

The generosity of our hearts is certified through our selfless actions.  There's a certain translation of the Scriptures that teaches us that God has "lavished" His love upon us, and as recipients of that great love, we can allow the Spirit of God to flow through us and touch the lives of others.  We can be a conduit of His blessings to people in need and we can manifest the presence of God to those who need to know and experience Him. We can be faithful representatives of a loving, living Lord.
 

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2 Corinthians 9 provides some encouragement regarding our attitude of matters of generosity; we can read these words:
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

There's generally a time in a worship service in which offerings are received.  Before COVID, that was considered to be the passing of the plate, although I am sure that online giving is now an emphasis, which was a trend even before public health concerns altered our practice of financial offerings.  Members of local churches are involved in the financial support of the work of their church as they bring their resources to God.

A church in San Antonio, in a sense, turned around the process recently. It actually gave money to the church attendees!  According to television station, KSAT, in late August:

Oak Hills Church said it handed out 762 envelopes Sunday between its two services, each one with a $100 bill inside. With attendance higher than expected, the church told KSAT it still had more than 60 families who would pick up their envelopes next weekend.

Church officials don’t expect most of the money to stay within the congregation, though.

The article quoted the lead pastor Travis Eades, “If you are in need, then this is for you. But if that’s not you, then this is for you to pay it forward and to bless somebody else that only you could possibly know about,” adding, “You know needs that we will never know, and you can reach people that we would never be able to reach.”

The leader of adult ministries Matt Moore is quoted as saying, “We’re excited to see how stories flood back in of how each person goes into the places where they live, work, learn and play and get to use that money for the benefit of others..."

The Christian Post quotes Eades, who said:

“It’s not about the money. It is about the call on our lives to take what we have and to use it where we live, work, learn and play and to meet those needs," Eades explained. "We’re going to continue to invest globally. We’re going to continue to take our resources and give aid to places like Afghanistan and Haiti. We’re going to continue to help when disaster strikes here domestically. We’re going to continue to invest in our city. But today, what we’re doing [is], we’re investing where we live, work, learn and play. The best way for us to invest in that is to invest in you because you know those needs."

He stated, "We’re really reflecting the radical generosity that has been shown to us...," referring to God giving His only Son so that we might have salvation.

The article noted that this is the church where Max Lucado has served in a teaching capacity.  Max, who is heard on Upwords on Faith Radio, could certainly use some support in the form of prayer these days.  At his website recently, he offered a health update:

Recently I was diagnosed with an ascending aortic aneurysm. Because this is a serious condition, I wanted you to hear from me personally.

Though surgery is a possibility, none is planned at the moment. The current strategy is to wait, watch, and pray that the aneurysm doesn’t increase any further in size. I am maintaining my normal routines and commitments; my ministry is undisturbed by this news.

Here’s the good news: I feel fine. I am under the care of an outstanding medical team, and most of all, I am in the hands of a good God.

Max Lucado recognizes his life is in the "hands of a good God."  And, when you think about the challenge issued to his congregation, you can consider that we are conduits of His goodness.

The Bible teaches that God provides the resources so that His work could be done.  In the ministry of Jesus, we see His provision of a coin in the mouth of a fish so that the disciples could pay their taxes, which freed up resources to carry on His ministry.  We're told that God provides the seed for us to sow, in order that Kingdom work might be done.  We can be devoted to being faithful stewards in testifying to His greatness through giving.

We are called to, as the pastor says, radical generosity, and it is a work of the heart of a redeemed believer, who loves Christ so much that he or she is willing to take what God has entrusted to them and to pass it on, to "pay it forward," if you will.  In fact, whatever we own, belongs to God - ultimately; we cannot take it when we leave this earth, so we can consider what we will leave behind.